Collection-receptacle.



w. [LMARTIN & n. T. BJYOR'K. i

COLL-ECTlON RECEPTACLE;

APPLICATION FILED FEB.26,1915.

1,183,095.: Patented M 16, 1916. 2 SHEETS-:SHEET l.

A TTOR NE vs,

W. D. MARTIN & D. T. BJORK.

COLLECTION RECEPTACLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 26. I915.

Patented May 16,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEE T 2.

. INVENTOR,

.jauza iork. BY

ATTORNEYS.

WILLIAM in. malaria Ann nnvrn T. BJORK', OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COLLECTION-RECEPTACLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May in, 191s.

Application filed Februarj 26, 1915. Serial No. 10,664.

T 0. (ZZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, lVILLIAM D. Minrrrn and DAVID T. Baonn, citizens ofthe United States, and residents of Chicago, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCollection-Receptacles; and we do hereby declare that the following is afull, cleanand exact description thereof, ,refer-.

ones being had to the accompanying draware closed by suitable doors, thelatter being opened when. a package or article is placed into andremoved from the receptacle. The entrance opening permits the package orarticle to be placed in the receptacle from the outside of the buildingwall, and the exit opening enables the deposited article to ,be removedfrom the receptacle from the in- 'side of the wall or room of which thewallv forms a part.

Among the objects of the invention is to improve the construction of acollection receptacle of the type referred to in the several particularsas will hereinafter appear, and to provide in particular means wherebythe door of the entrance opening will be locked as soon as it is closed,after an article or articles are deposited inthe receptacle, and will beheld in locked position as long as such articles remain in the.receptacle, and further to unlock the door as soon as the depositedarticle or'articles are removed from the receptacle. I

Inits general features, a collection rec'eptacle embodying the featuresofjour invention comprises an entrance opening in its front wall, which.when the receptacle is inserted in the wall of a building. is locatedalong the outer orexterior face of said wall, and an exit opening in itsrear wall, which is located along the inner face'of said wall and facesinto the room or other compartment formed in part by said wall. A falsebottom is located in said recepta dc, and said false bottom is yieldablyheld above the bottom wall of the same. The entrance open- .tional view,taken on line 55 of Fig. 3';

ing in the front wall of the receptacle is closed by a door, which whenopened permlts a package or article to-be deposited in thereceptacle'upon the false bottom Wall thereof. The weight of the articleacts to depress; said false bottom wall, and when the entrance door isclosed the same is locked in such position. lhe entrance door is lockedin closed position long as the package or article remains in thereceptacle and access to the-same from the outside of the building wallis prevented. The exit open ng inthe rear wall is closed by a door,which opens into theroom of the house or apartment, and when opened fromthe inside of the room enables the occupant of the same to remove thepackage that has been placed in said receptacle. As soon as the packageis removed, the entrance. door is unlocked and may be opened to enableother articles to be deposited in said receptacle.

The invention consists further in the mattershereinafter described andmore particularly pointed out in the appended claims,

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view and in frontelevation of a' collection receptacle constructedin accordance withour'invention, tire receptacle being shownin the position it occupieswhen inset in the. wall of a building or the like; Fig. 2 is aperspective'view and in rear elevation of said receptacle when inset inthe wall of the building, the rear door of said receptacle being shownin open position; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken on lineof Fig. 2; Fig. 4: is a transverse. vertical sectional view, taken online 4+4 of 'Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a transverse,- vertical sec- Fig. 6 is anenlarged, vertical sectional view.

taken through the sliding front door of the receptacle, said slidingdoor being shown. locked in its closed position; Fig. 7' is' anenlarged, vertical sectional view of the-same parts shown in Fig.6 andlooking-at such parts from the rear, the parts forming the latch devicefor said sliding door being shown in locked position in full lines andin unlocked position in dotted lincs z-Fig. 8

is an enlarged horizontal sectional view,

taken on line 88 of Fig. 4; Fig. 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary. rearelevational view of the parts shown in Fig. 8; and Fig. 10

is an enlarged. fragmcntar vertical sectional view, taken on line 10-10of 5 Referring to the drawings, illustrating in detail a collectionreceptacle or box constructed in accordance with our invention,indicates the wall of a building, in which said receptacle 1s adapted tobe inset. 11s

. and, a bottom wall 15.

shown, said receptacle is rectilinear in form, and comprises a frontwall 11, a rear wall 12,- and walls 13, 13, atop wall 11, The receptacleis preferably made of metal, and the walls thereof are rigidly joined toeach other. The interior space of the receptacle constitutes the packageorf merchandise-receiving compartment thereof, and, as illustrated,

such compartment is divided into two chambers 16, 17 by atransversepartition wall 18, vertically arranged in the receptacle and secured tothe top, bottom front and rear walls thereof. Said partition wall 18 isso located that the chamber 17 is considerably larger longitudinallythan the chamber 16. The receptacle or box is made of such size as tocompletely fill the opening in the building wall, in which it is inset,and the front flush with the exterior face wall 11 of the receptaclepackages or other articles are passed in closing the doorway 19.

the chamber 17 and secured to the bottom the chamber 17 in placing thesame in said chambers 16, 17 The opening 19 is opened and closed by adoor21, which, as shown, is of the sliding type; and is mounted in thechamber 17 so as to be moved endwise thereof over the door vay 19 inopening and closing the samel Said door 21 is larger than said opening19, and is slidably applied against the rear face of the front wall 11.Said door 21, when moved endwise toward the partition, opening 19, and,when moved 1n the opposite direction, completely closes said opening 19.Said door '21 is slidably mounted in the following manner: Located inthe chamber 17 and secured to the top wall 11, adjacent the front wall11, is an angle bar 22 which extends preferably the full'length of thechamber 17. The upper portion of the sliding door '21 extends into thespace between the angle bar and the fro t wall 11, as shown in Figs. 3,5 and 6, nd said door 21 is provided with rollers 3, 23 which haverolling contact upper face of a track portion 21,

formed by a laterally projecting flange on with this Said rollers 23, 23supsaid anl le bar 22.

and enable the same to C port the door 21, be easily moved endwise inopening an Located within '6.) The upper margin vertical or uprightposition wall 18, uncovers the entrance d the plate 30.

wall 15, adjacent the front wall 11, is an angle bar 25, the uprightflange 26 of which is arranged parallel to, but spaced inwardly from,said front wall 11. (See Figs. 5 and of the flange 2.6 is below thelower margin of the doorway opening 19. The angle bar 2.5 extendssubstantially the full length of the chamber 17, and the upright flange26 thereof isiprovided, intermediate its ends, with a slot or lockingnotch 27 opening upwardly through the upper edge of said upright flange26. Said locking notch 27 is located opposite the doorway opening 19,and the opposed upper edges of said notch 27 are inclined upwardly andoutwardly, so as to give the entrance end of the slot 27 a flared shape,as shown in Fig. 7. Pivotally secured to the inner face of the slidingdoor 21, is a locking or latch member 28. The latter is pivoted to thedoor 21 by a pivot pin 29, located above the center of the lockingmember, so that the same normally tends to swing into a by reason of itsgravity. The lower end of thelatch member 28 rides on the upper marginof the flange 26 in the endwisemovement of the door 21 into open andclosed positions, and, when the door is moved into closed posi-- tion,the lower end of the latch member is adapted to drop into said lockingnotch 27. \Vhen the lower end of said latch member 28 drops into saidlocking notch 27, the latch member contacts with one of the side marginsof said notch and holds the door '21 against endwise movement in adircc= tion to open'the same.

Located within the chamber 17, is a flat metal plate 30, which fitsloosely within said chamber and forms the false bottom therefor. Saidplate 30 is provided along its front and rear margins withdependingmarginal flanges 31, the latter being provided intermediate its endswith downwardly opening, vertical slots or notches 33, 33, adapted toreceive inwardly projecting lugs or screws 31, 31 on the rear wall 12.(See Fig. 10.) Said parts 31, 31 are adjacent the bottom wall 15 of thereceptacle and serve to hold the rear margin of the plate 30 above saidbottom-wall 15. The front marginal portion of the plate 30 is normallyheld above said bottom wall 15 by means of a spring 35, located beneathsaid plate 30 and bearing upwardly thereagainst. As shown in thedrawings, said spring 35 is of, the leaf type and has its centraldepressed portion rigidly secured to the bottom wall 15 byfasteningscrews or rivets 36, 36. The opposite ends of the spring 35 arespaced above the bottom wall 15 and bear upwardly against the bottom ofThe parts 31, 31 and spring. 35 serve to hold the plate 30 normally in asubstantially horizontal position and verti- "ally spaced above thebottom wall 15. Sa1d plate 30 is-in etl'ect pivoted along its innermargin to the rear wall of the recep tacle, its front margin beingyieldably held above the bottom wall 15.

In order to hold the lower or locking end of the latch member 28 out 01the locking notch 25, when the door 21 closed and the chamber orcompartment 17 is empty, so that the door 21 may be readily opened, weprovide the following construction: The plate 30 is provided on itsfront margin with an outwardly projecting lug 37 (see Figs. 6 and T),the latter being so positioned as to extend into the locking slot 27.hen the chamber 17 is empty. the plate 30 is maintained by said springin its normal position, as shown in Fig. 6, and the lug 37 issubstantially flush with the upper margin of the flange 26, as shown indotted lines in Fig. '1' thereby preventing thelower end of the latchmember 28 from dropping into the looking notch 27 when the door 21 isclosed. When the chamber 17 is empty, the parts are in the positionshown in Fig. 3, and the door 21 is unlocked and may be moved enclwiseto open andfclose the opening 19. The door 21 is provided on its outerface with a handle 21, by means of which the door may be moved endwise.Sa'id door 21 is normally maintained in its closed position by a spring21", one end of which is secured to the door and the other end of whichis secured to one .of the walls of the receptacle (Fig. 3). Said spring21 extends across the door, as shown in Fig. 3, and serves to normallyhold the door closed. lVhen the door 21 is moved into open position. thespring 21 is expanded and acts to pull the door closed when the same isreleased.

The rear wall 12 of the receptacle or box is provided with an exitopening 38 which opens intothe chambers 16 and 17. Said exit opening 38is closed by a door 39, which has hinged connection with one of themargins of said door opening 38. As illustrated. said door 39 has hingedconnection along its ower margin. by means of hinges '-10, 10, with therear wall 12, the hinges being exteriorlynpplied against such parts. Thedoor is held in closed position by a suitable latch device. which. asshown in the drawings, comprises a handle 41 pivotallvmounted on theouter face of the door adjacent the upper margin thereof. and a keeper42 fixed to the rear wall 12 ot' the re ceptacle. Said handle 11 isprovided with a locking lug adapted in turning said handle to be movedinto and out of locking engagement with said keeper. The door opening 38also opens into the smaller or second chamber 16, and the door 39constitutes the closure therefor inthe rear Wall of the receptacle. 1

The chamber or compartment 17 15 of such size or dimensions as toreceive rather large packages or parcels. such as laundry packages,boxes containing groceries, packages of merchandise and the like. henthe chamber 17 is empty. the latch member 2 is held out of the lockingnotch 27, and the sliding door 21 may be moved to open the opening 19."The bottom plate 30 is in its normal position. hen the door 21 is- 37downward into the positionshown in full lines in Fig. 7. The lower endof the latch member 28 drops into the locking notch 27 as soon as thedoor 21 is closedi In this position of the parts, the lower end.

of the latch member contacts with one of the side margins of the notch27, and the door 21 is held or locked against endwise movement. The doorremains locked as long as the article or articles remain in the chamber17. Upon opening the door 39 at the back of the receptacle, the articlesmay be re moved from the chamber or compartment 17. As soon as thearticles are removed from the chamber 17, the weight on the bottom plate30 is relieved, and the latter under the action of the spring 35 ismoved upward into its normal position. .The lug or finger 3? is raisedupward in the locking slot 27 and acts to raise the end of he latchmember 28 out of said notch. The door 21 is thus unlocked and may bemoved to open the opening 19 when another article or package is to bedeposited in the receptacle. When several articles or packages are to beplaced in the receptacle at one time, the

door 21 is held open and the. articles or packages placed in the chamber17 in succession. As soon as the last article is placed in the chamber17, the door 21 is released, and the same is closed by the spring 21Thechamber 16 is preferably smaller in transverse dimensions than'thechamber or compartment 17, and said compartment 16 designed to receivesmall articles, such as filled bottles of milk. Located in said chamber16 is a false bottom $3, in the form of a fiat plate, which is providedon its front and rear margins with depending marginal flanges e5 41, thelatter being provided intermediate its ends with vertical notches orslots 46, 16, adapted to receive inwardly projecting lugs or screws 17,47. The latter are arranged adjacent, but above, the bottom Wall 15, andserve to holdtherear portion ofthe false bottom olate si -above the bot-.same plane with the lower margin of 'are hung in the following manner:

tom 15 of the box and in substantially the the rear door opening 38.-The parts 47 and the slots 46 are made substantially the same as thecorresponding parts 33, 34, as shown in Fig. 10, and serve the samepurpose. A spring 48 (see Fig. 4), located between the plate 43 and thebottom Wall 15 and adjacent the front wall 11, serves to yieldablymaintain or hold the forward marginal portion of the bottom plate 43 inhorizontal position and above and vertically spaced from the bottom wall15. As shown in the drawings (Fig. 4), the spring 48 is of the leaftype, and has one end secured to the under side of said bottom plate 43.The free end of the spring 48 bears downwardly against the bottom wall.The parts 47, 47 and the spring 48 serve to normally hold the bottomplate 43 above the bottom wall 15 in a substantially horizontalposition. The doorway opening 20 in the front wall 11 of the receptacleopens into the chamber 16, and double doors 49, 49, of the swingingtype, are provided to close said doorway 20. Said double doors'49, 49combined are larger than the opening 20, and each door is made exactlyalike. Said doors 49, 49 are located in the chamber 16, and, when inposition closing the opening 20, said doors are in lateral alinement andoverlap the margins of the opening 20. Said doors 49, 49 Secured to theinner face of the front wall 11. and above each door 49, is a bracket50. Secured to the inner face of each door 49, adjacent the lower marginthereof and in vertical 'alinement with the associated bracket 50, is

a bracket 50 Said brackets50, 50 are arranged at the sides of the dooropening 20. Extending between each set of brackets 50, 502 is a rod 51,51, about which is encircled a coiled spring 53, one end of which issecured to the door 49, and the other end to the front wall 11. Saidsprings 53, 53 yieldably hold the doors 49, 49 in a position closing theentrance opening 20. The doors 49, 49 swing open in unison upon anarticle being forced inwardly thereagainst, and, as soon as the articleenters the chamber 16 and passes the doors, the latter, under the actionof the springs 53, 53, spring into closed position, thereby closing theopening 20.

' To hold the doors 49, 49 closed, when an article or articles arelocated in the chamber 16, a latch device of the following constructionis employed: Secured to the inner face of the front wall 11, below thelower margin of theentrance openin 20, is an angle bar 52, the flange 54of which is horizontally disposed and extends inwardly from said frontwall 11. -The vertical. flange 55 of said angle bar 52 is secured to thefront wall 11. The angle bar 52 extends across'tbe ing dogs flange 45 ofthe Pivotally secured to the verticaLflange 55,

below the horizontal flange 54, are two lockor catches 56, 56, one foreach door 49, 49. (See Fig. 8.) The flange 54 is provided with slots 57,57, one for each looking dog 56, 56. Each locking dog .is pivotallysecured, intermediate its ends, by means of a pivot pin 58, 58, to theangle bar 52, and the upper or looking ends of said dogs are adapted toproject through said slots 57, 57 and into the path of movement of saiddoors 49, 49. The depending marginal false bottom plate 43 is providedat each side thereof with outwardly projecting lugs 59, 59, one for eachlocking dog 56, 56. As shown in the drawings, said lugs 59, 59 extendbeneath the tail ends of said locking dogs 56, 56, and, when the forwardendof the plate 43 is moved upward by the spring 48, the tail ends ofsaid dogs 56, 56 are also moved upward, thereby rocking the dogs 56, 56and swinging the locking ends thereof down into the slots 57 57 and outof the path of movement of the swinging doors 49, 49. In Fig. 9, thelocking dogs 56, 56 are shown in unlocked position in. full lines and inlocked position in dotted lines. When an article 'is placed within theelm-m; ber 16 by forcing the same through the double doors 49, 49, thearticle rests upon the false bottom plate 43, and, by reason of itsweight, depresses the forward niargin of the bottom plate 43 downwardly.In the downward movement of the bottom plate 43, the lugs 59, 59 aremoved downward,

-thereby permitting the locking dogs 56, 56

are beveled, so that the doors 49, 49 may pass freely thereover in theclosing of said doors. The doors 49, 49 are locked in closed position aslong as an article or articles remain in the chamber 16 upon the bottomplate 43 thereof. To remove the article or articles from the chamber 16,the rear door 39 is opened and the articles withdrawn from the chamberor compartment 16 through the rear opening 38. Upon the removal ofsucharticles. the spring 48 raises the forward portion of the bottomplate 43 and effects the rocking of the locking dogs 56, 56 intolowered'position, thereby unlockingthe double doors 49, 49.

The collection receptacle hereindescribed and shot-tn built in the wallof: a building to which it is to be'applied, and marginal portions ofthe front wall 11 overlap the front face of the wall 10 abopt theopening in which the receptacle or b'c-x is inserted. A wood or likefacing is applied about the margins of the rear wall 12, as shown inFig. so as to give a, finished. and neat appearance to the boX from theinside of the wall 10. The rear door 39 swings inwardly into the room ofthe house or; apartment of 1 which the wall 10 forinsa part, and thearticle or articles deposited in the receptacle from the outside thereofmay be removed from the receptacle by the occupant or tenant of thehouse, 'up'on opening the rear door 39 and without leaving the room. Thedeliveryman and milkman deposit their respective articles in the propercompartments of thereceptacle through the entrance open? ings thereof,and continue about their respective duties. With such receptacle in thewall, there is no worry for the tenant or owner,-nor are the neighborscalled upon to receive parcels and the like. The tenant need not be onhand to receive the parcel when delivered, nor be annoyed when the sameis delivered. The locking devices all being located inside of thereceptacle, said locking devices cannot be pried open or tampered with,nor the articles removed or stolen fromthe same from the outside of thehouse. The rear door 39 being locked from within the house, the doorcannot be opened, even when the compartments 16, 17 are empty. As soonaS the articles are removed from the receptacle by the tenant, the atchmechanism is released and the front doors unlocked, so that thereceptacle may be opened to receive other articles on subsequentdeliveries. The receptacle and its parts are made of. metal, and thedevice is burglar proof. The slots in the rear marginal flange of eachof the bottom plates 80, l-liespectively, open downward, and therebypermit the plates to be removed from the compartment or chambeijinwhichthey are inserted, when it is desired to clean the collectionreceptacle. 7

A receptacle of the character described may be built into the wall asthe latter is being built, or thereceptacle may .be placed in a wallthat has already been-built.

It is. to be understoodthat the receptacle herein described and shownmay be variously modified and changed as to its details of constructionand arrangement of parts, without departing from the spirit and scope ofour invention, and we do not wish to be limited tothe exact details ofconstruction shown and described, except as pointed out in the annexedclaims.

{ lYe claim as our invention:

1. A collection receptacle of thecharacter describedcomprising a platelocated therein and adapted to'support an article de posited thereon,means for holding said plate above the bottom of said receptacle andpermitting said plate to be depressed under the weight of the articleplaced thereon, said receptacle being provided in one of its walls withan opening through which the artible may be passed in depositing thesame in said receptacle, a door for closing said opening, a lockingmember mounted on said door, said plate being providedwith a partadapted, when the receptacle is empty, to occupy a position preventingsaid locking member from moving into locking position, said part beingmoved, upon the depression of said plate, into a position permittingsair locking member to move by its own weight into locking position andlock said "door in closed position, when the latter is closed,

said receptaele beingprovided with a secmnd opening through which thearticle may be removed from said receptacle, and a door for closingsaidsecond opening.

2. A receptacle of the character described, comprising upright ,marginaland bottom walls, a partition member within said receptacle and dividingthe interior space thereof into a plurality of compartments, a platelocated in each compartment and adapted to support air-article depositedthereon, means forholding each plate above the bottom wall of saidreceptacle and permitting each plate to be depressed under the weightofthe article placed thereon, said receptaclebeing provided in one ofits upright walls with a plurality of openings, one opening intoeachcompartment, a door for closing each opening, a locking member for eachcompartment, eacl plate being provided with a part.

adapted. when ,the compartment within which the plate is locatedis'empty, to occupy a position"v preventing said locking member frommoving into locking. position, and said part being moved with the platewhen the latter is depressed, into a position permitting the lockingmember to move by its own weightdnto locking-position and lock the doorof its associated compartment closed, when the latter is moved into itsclosed position.

.3. A collection receptacle. of the character described, embracingupright marginal and bottom walls, plateloca-ted in said recepf tacleand adapted to support the article deposited therein, means foryieldably; hold mg said plate above the bottom wall of said receptacleand permitting said plate to be depressed under the weight of thearticle placed thereon, said receptacle being provided in,one of itsupright walls with an opening' through which an article be passed indepositing the same in said receptacle, a door slidably applied againstthe inner face of. said well for closing said opening, a locking member,pivotally mounted on the inner face of saidv door, an

upright flange located in said receptacle and secured to the bottom wallthereof, said tiange'being provided with a locking notch, said platebeing provided with a lug ex.- tending into'said notch, said lugoccupying a position, when the receptacle is empty, in "the upperportion of said notch and preventing said locking member from droppinginto said notch when said door is closed, said lug being moved downwardin said notch in the depression of said plate under the weight of thearticle placed thereon and permitting said locking member to drop insaid notch when'the door is closed, said receptacle being provided witha sec- I nd opening through which the'article deposited in saidreceptacle may be removed therefrom, and a door for closing said lastnamed opening. 4. A collection receptacle of the character described,embracing upright marginal and bottom walls, a plate located in saidreceptacle and adapted tosupport the article deposited therein, meansyieldably holdmg said plate above the bottom wall of said \receptac leand permitting said plate to be depressed under the weight of thearticle Dlaced thereon, said receptacle being pro- -Vided in one of itsupright walls with an so'popening through which an article may be passedin placing the same in said receptacle, a door slidably applied againstthe rear faceof said wall for closing said opening, a locking memberpivotally mounted on said door, an upright flange secured to said bottomwall and extending longitudinally of said receptacle, said lockingmember bearing on said flange endwise of said door, said flange beingprovided with a the article placed thereon and occupying-a positionpermitting said locking member to enter said locking notch when the dooris closed, said receptacle being provided with an opening through whichthe article deposited in said receptacle may be removed therefrom, and adoor for closing said second opening.

In testimony, that we claim the foregoing as our invention, we affix oursignatures in the presence of two witnesses, this 23rd day of FebruaryA. D; 1915.

' WILLIAM D. MARTIN.

DAVID T. BJORK.

\Vitnesses: I v

CLARENCE FxPoor-aa, EUGENE C. Earn.

